It is well recognized among regular passengers on commercial carriers that it is often difficult to relax in the seats provided. In particular, economy class seating on aircraft and buses typically provides closely-spaced forward-facing seats in rows separated by a very small space. These seats severely restrict the passenger's movement out of the sitting position, causing fatigue and discomfort during the journey.
A common feature of economy class seating is the fold-down tray table presented to the passenger by the back of the seat in front. Passengers have been known to seek relief from the discomfort of their seats by leaning forward and resting their heads on a conventional pillow placed on the tray table in front. This practice does not always give the passenger the relief sought, however, especially when the pillow is too small to fit conveniently on the tray table, or when the pillow is too soft to prevent the passenger from feeling the tray table through the pillow. Moreover, a passenger relaxing in this way risks being disturbed when the seat in front is reclined, since in order to be reclined, the seat in front must necessarily be forced backwards into the space in which the passenger is trying to relax.
There has therefore been a long-felt but unsolved need for a pillow that meets the needs of a passenger trying to relax in the confined space afforded by typical economy class seating. The present invention addresses this need by providing a pillow that is placed in the space immediately in front of the passenger, and whose shape and size provide a comfortable surface on which to lean forward and relax. Further, the shape of the pillow is designed so that its normal operating position will remain substantially unaffected by any reclining movement of the seat in front.
Since passengers typically are able to carry only a limited amount of hand luggage, the present invention is also directed to an inflatable pillow which, when deflated, may easily be folded up and carried conveniently in another bag, or even a coat pocket, when not in use. It is contemplated, however, that passengers short of breath may experience difficulty inflating a pillow when seated. The present invention therefore also includes an optional flexible tube that will connect the valve in the pillow remotely to an external climate control near the passenger, such as an air conditioning vent, so that air supply from the external climate control may be used to inflate the pillow. This previously unsuggested combination of deflatability for ease of transport and then inflatability, optionally from a nearby climate control, is a synergistic improvement over the prior art.
The present invention is further directed to a pillow whose shape is predetermined to fit into the space in front of a passenger sitting in rows of forward-facing seats. In one embodiment, the shape, when substantially inflated, has at least two faces, one of which rests snugly on a support such as a tray table, the other sculpted to abut against the seat in front while leaving space for the seat in front to recline into. In another embodiment, flexibly connected cells fold to form a shape that substantially occupies the available space in front of the passenger while still leaving room for the seat in front to recline into.
Although pillows on which the user may lean forward and rest the head are known in the art, the present invention is distinguishable from previous designs suggesting this application. Kertz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,621, for example, discloses a steering wheel attachment that provides a foam pad pillow on which drivers may rest the arms and head. The present invention is distinguishable in that Kertz is directed to a specific, semicircular pillow enabling drivers to rest on their steering wheels. In contrast, the present invention is directed and adapted for the needs of passengers trying to relax in forward-facing rows of seats. Further, Kertz is not inflatable. Another design variation is disclosed in Sparks et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,472, which is directed to a multi-purpose resting and storage device of modular construction that may also be placed in the lap of a sitting person to provide support for the chin. The present invention is distinguishable from and improves on Sparks by being deflatable. The present invention may thus be deflated, folded up and transported by the passenger much more conveniently when not in use. Further, unlike the present invention, Sparks makes no provision to prevent the user from being disturbed when a seat in front is reclined. In yet another variation, Wagner, U.S. Pat. No. 2,877,472, is directed to a solid pillow, disclosing three flexibly-connected segments that fold together. The embodiment of the present invention that discloses a plurality of flexibly-connected cells is distinguishable in that it is deflatable and is therefore more conveniently stored and transported by the passenger.